Give your child plenty of water to avoid constipation

Alice N

A mild bout of constipation in children is common, and usually lasts just for a few days but sometimes it can go unnoticed for several weeks and become chronic.

Constipation is the state in which bowel movements are hard and dry, difficult or painful to pass.

When a child does not eat enough fibre, take plenty of drinks or exercise they are likely to become constipated. It also happens when children ignore the urge to have a bowel movement, which they often do out of embarrassment to use a public bathroom, fear or lack of confidence in the absence of a parent, or unwillingness to take a break from play. Medicines or diseases sometimes cause constipation.

Symptoms include no bowel movement for several days or daily bowel movements that are hard and dry, cramping abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, liquid or solid, clay-like stool in the child’s underwear—a sign that stool is backed up in the rectum.

Constipation can make a bowel movement painful, so the child may try to prevent having one. Clenching buttocks, rocking up and down on toes, and turning red in the face are signs of trying to hold in a bowel movement. Treatment depends on the child’s age and the severity of the problem. Often eating a lot of fibre — fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain cereal —, drinking plenty of liquids, and exercise will solve the problem. Sometimes a child may need an enema — insertion of liquid into the bowels — to remove the stool or a laxative to soften it or prevent a future episode; however, laxatives can be dangerous to children and should be given only with a doctor’s approval.

Constipation can be a sign or cause of a more serious problem. If your child has chronic constipation see a nutritionist for a meal plan to relieve the condition. — The writer is a nutrition and diet consultant.

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